Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections / Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is more an aggregate of private collections and former record labels than what we might otherwise consider the domain of the audio archive; i.e., historically and culturally significant recordings; wax cylinders and other early commercial formats; etc. The Rinzler Archive’s holdings are accessible to public, however.

Part of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C., the Rinzler Archive includes the holdings of and publishing rights for several independent post-War American record labels. Cook Records, Dyer-Bennet Records, Monitor Records, Paredon Records, and, most famously, Folkways Records (founded by Moses and Frances Asch): these were labels that focused generally on American and international folk music traditions. Additionally, they were labels founded and run by folk music's champions, and the Rinzler Archive includes collections of papers, photos, catalogs, patents and personal tapes associated with these labels’ founders. Significantly, the archive also includes the collections associated with the Smithsonian’s own music initiatives - its audio/visual documentation of its annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival along with its own ethnomusicological field recordings (which have been released on CD in recent decades). Finally, the Rinzler Archive holds several tape and photograph collections that relate to music - the Frederic Ramsey Jr. Tape Collection and the Lee Hays Papers.

These somewhat confusing collection principles ultimately place the Rinzler Archives somewhere between government institution, record label, music vendor, and audio/visual archive. Nonetheless, the Rinzler comprises a fairly comprehensive audio (and, to a certain extent, visual) survey of folk music traditions from around the world.

Object Characteristics. The Rinzler Archive’s audio holdings (which, again, are mostly former album releases) have all been digitized. Thousands of original LPs (and CDs, later), their original album covers and liner notes reproduced, are presently available, along with their audio content (in mp3 or “lossless” flac format), through their vendor Smithsonian Global Sound. They’re available, it should be said, for a price. The Smithsonian owns the rights to the music, but that does not mean the music is free. Rather, music can be bought ala iTunes, by the track or by the album - or purchased as a compact disc. Curious users can listen to audio clips of each track, however, and liner notes can be downloaded free of charge.

Further explanation from their vendor's website:

“Smithsonian Global Sound… extends the notion of the "Long Tail" of internet music sales, making available "people’s music" from archives in India, Africa, the United States, and elsewhere, increasing the internet’s range of access to the world’s cultural heritage. The revenue earned from sales of downloads and subscriptions supports the creation of new educational content and is shared with archival partners, who in turn pass on a portion of those revenues with artists and communities.”

A standard keyword search was provided for online users. Search options also included the options of choosing a specific country (e.g., Ethiopia), culture group (e.g., Bosnian), genre (e.g., drinking songs), instrument (e.g., oud), label/archive (e.g., Cook or Folkways), language (e.g., Sanskrit), and/or year. These search criteria corresponded exactly to the metadata provided for each album.

The archive itself, located in Washington, D.C., serves more traditional research and educational needs. Online, however, its intended audience seems to be a more general public - a general public, presumably, with an abiding interest in folk music and a few extra dollars to spend on downloaded content.